AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A series of raids on the homes of Latino campaign workers in Texas has outraged civil rights groups and calls for federal intervention after officials seized electronic devices and documents as part of a state investigation into alleged voter fraud.
No charges have been filed against the people whose homes in San Antonio were raided this month. The victims of the raids, including an 87-year-old campaign worker, and their supporters say they did nothing wrong and have called the raids an attempt to suppress Latino voters.
Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office is leading the investigation, said little other than to confirm that agents had executed search warrants.
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Paxton said his office’s election integrity unit began investigating the allegations after being alerted to them by a local prosecutor.
He said the investigation involved “allegations of voter fraud and vote gerrymandering” and that the two-year investigation had produced enough evidence to obtain a search warrant.
“Secure elections are the cornerstone of our republic,” Paxton said in a statement last week. “We were happy to help when the District Attorney referred this case to my office for investigation.
Last week, agents raided the homes of at least six people associated with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), one of the country’s oldest civil rights groups. Among them were Cecilia Castellano, a Democratic candidate for the state House of Representatives, and Manuel Medina, a San Antonio political consultant.
Medina told reporters that agents searched his home for several hours and seized numerous documents, computers and cell phones. Castellanos’ phone was also taken away.
Lidia Martinez, who teaches senior citizens how to vote, said nine investigators searched her home for more than two hours and took her smartphone and watch.
Martinez, 87, said officers told her they were there because she had filed a complaint that seniors had not received their mail-in ballots. The search warrant required officers to confiscate all election-related items.
“They sat me down and started searching my entire house, my closet, my garage, my kitchen, everything,” Martinez said at a press conference on Monday.
She also said that officials questioned her about other people associated with LULAC, including Medina.
“I’m not doing anything illegal,” Martinez said. “I’m just helping the seniors.”
LULAC has asked the Justice Department to investigate. CEO Juan Proaño said Wednesday the group is in contact with the department to block further search warrants and possibly pursue criminal and civil charges against Paxton’s office.
Justice Department spokespeople did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
A district judge in Texas has granted Medina a temporary restraining order to prevent authorities from searching his records. A hearing in the case is scheduled for September 12.
In recent years, the state has tightened voting laws and increased penalties, which Democrats and opponents see as an attempt to suppress minority voter turnout. Republican lawmakers dispute this and say the changes are necessary safeguards.
Paxton, whose failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election based on false allegations of fraud caught the attention of the state bar, has made prosecuting voter fraud cases his top priority, campaigning against judges who stripped his office of the authority to prosecute voter fraud without authorization from local district attorneys.
Earlier this year, a state appeals court overturned the voter fraud conviction of a woman who had been sentenced to five years in prison for voting while on probation in 2016 despite not knowing the illegality of a crime.
Lathan is a corps member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on issues that aren’t as frequently covered.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications.
